Biofilm development by potentially pathogenic non-pigmented rapidly growing mycobacteria.
BACKGROUND
A study to evaluate the biofilm-development ability in three different media (Middlebrook 7H9, sterile tap water and PBS-5% glucose) was performed with 19 collection strains from 15 different species on non-pigmented rapidly growing mycobacteria (NPRGM). A microtiter plate assay was developed to evaluate the percentage of covered surface of the microtiter plate wells in different days from day 1 to day 69.


RESULTS
All strains were able to develop biofilm in all the tested media. Middlebrook 7H9 showed the fastest growth, followed by sterile tap water and PBS-5% glucose. A sigmoid growth curve was detected in all the strains both in Middlebrook 7H9 and in sterile tap water. A difference could be detected for Mycobacterium abscessus in tap water, where it showed faster growth than all the other strains.


CONCLUSIONS
Biofilm development seems to be a property of all the species of NPRGM and it depends on the nutrients present in the medium. The microtiter plate assay described here is a useful tool to evaluate differences in biofilm development among the different species of rapidly growing mycobacteria.
Esteban
Jaime
J
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz-UTE, Madrid, Spain. jestebanmoreno@gmail.com
Martín-de-Hijas
Nieves Z
NZ
Kinnari
Teemu J
TJ
Ayala
Guillermo
G
Fernández-Roblas
Ricardo
R
Gadea
Ignacio
I
D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D003470:Culture Media; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000254:growth & development*
D003470:Culture Media